While requesting permission to hand out $1.8 million in bonuses to managers, Hostess told a court it can't pay retiree benefits and quit contributing to the pension plan more than a year ago. Presumably none of the executives is in public relations.

They say you get the unions you deserve. Or maybe it's the other way around. In either case, the combination of predatory management with bitter and angry workers is rarely going to be a good mix, as the death of Hostess demonstrates.